Cruz’s face was very close, and his eyes were fixed so intently on me that, for a second, I pictured kissing him. Sue me. He was beautiful. I tried to imagine being on a date with him, doing something totally normal. He was a human, after all—he wouldn’t be using me for my lame ability or to get a leg up in the Old World. We could go to the movies, order pizza, like my dates in high school.

But then I remembered Eli and the tortured little thing we were doing, and how damaged I knew I was. I suspected that my ability to have a real human connection had died with my parents. Letting the keys jingle in my hand, I took a step back and broke the spell.

“Okay, so what’s our working theory here?” I asked.

He frowned. “It sounds like Abraham was the real target, and the other two vampires were just collateral damage.”

“But did they actually want to kill Abraham, or were they just trying to get to Dashiell?”

“Not sure. I’ll check out Rucker’s alibi, and we should talk to Freedner. If they were both Abe’s human servants, this whole thing could be a love triangle gone wrong. Rucker himself said that there was jealousy.”

“He said rivalry.”

“Same thing.”

“I don’t know, he didn’t sound that...worked up about it.”

Cruz shrugged. “Maybe Abraham dumped Freedner, and he decided to off Abe. If I can’t have you, no one can kind of deal. Rucker might not even know about it.”

I thought that over. “Could be, I guess. Getting a null is about the only way a human servant would be able to kill a vampire. But I’m still putting my money on the killer being someone who wants to hurt Dashiell. He’s the bigger fish.”

“Maybe.” He stretched his arms over his head, yawning. “If Freedner works third shift, he won’t be home for a few hours yet. In the meantime, we need to know more about Dashiell’s enemies.”

I thought about that for a second. “Okay,” I said. “Come on, let’s go.”

“Where?” he said, blinking fast.

“We need to know more about Dashiell’s enemies, and he doesn’t want to talk to us.”

We got in the car, and I began to back out of the dingy Copper Room lot.

“So where are we going, then?” Cruz said.

I glanced over at him. “To see his wife.”

Chapter 15

We were on the road to Pasadena before Beatrice even answered the phone. I was hopeful like that. To my relief, she agreed to meet me at an all-night coffee shop a few miles away from the mansion, and she reluctantly consented to my bringing Cruz.

The coffee shop, Kalista’s Koffee, was sparse and low-key, with concrete floors and unfinished ceilings. Paintings by local artists hung on the whitewashed walls, and flashes of color—a teapot here, a bouquet there—saved the place from sterility. Despite the late hour, there were two college students having a heated academic debate near the front windows and a tired-looking man in his forties typing at a laptop near the counter.

Beatrice was already there, sitting in the far back corner with an untouched glass of water in front of her. She was wearing a dress, as always, but this one was a simple burgundy wrap dress that brought out the auburn in her eyes. She watched us walk up with a calm, even friendly, expression on her face—until I got close enough for her to cross the line into my unique personal bubble. She took a couple of short gasping breaths and then straightened up; her composure returned, if somewhat dimmed by humanity.

“Thank you for meeting with us, Beatrice,” I said respectfully. I introduced Cruz, who gave an old-fashioned little bow that somehow worked for him.

Beatrice nodded gracefully and indicated that we should sit. “My husband does not know I’m here, though I will tell him if it becomes necessary,” she warned us. She focused on me. “Scarlett, I agreed to see you because I don’t think that you are capable of participating in that kind of slaughter.”

I have to admit, I was a little surprised she thought so “highly” of me. “Um, thank you.”

Her eyes darkened. “And, of course, I am sorry that his employees were a bit...enthusiastic with you.”

I touched my face, having forgotten about the bruises on my cheek and eye. As soon as I remembered them, they began to ache. Guess I hadn’t been doing much smiling. “It’s nothing.”

She nodded briskly. “Now, I understand you wish to know more of my husband’s enemies.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Cruz said politely. “We have spoken to the human servants of the vampires who were killed, and they didn’t know of any other reason that those three would be killed, except to get to Dashiell.”

She looked at him, narrowing her eyes thoughtfully. “You have learned so much in only a few days,” she said. “I wonder if it is too much.”

He blushed under her stare, and she turned toward me. “Are you certain that it is not the wolves? The carnage—”

“Pretty certain. Will would know if one of his wolves was that twisted, and I just can’t see him letting it slide. It doesn’t make any sense.”

She nodded. “What about Kirsten? I know little of witch magic, but I am told she is very powerful. Is it possible that a spell could cause the same reaction as a null?”

That idea took me by surprise. I thought it over for a second. I didn’t know of any spells that could subdue the vampires—surely someone would have told me if that were possible?